Pencil drawing tutorial - portrait of a girl

Greetings and hello to the amazing Steemians of this community. It's me again, @emmaboy23, and today I am so excited to share one of my latest pencil drawings with you all. This time, I decided to work on something expressive and emotional, which is a pencil portrait of a girl. The drawing captures a young woman in a quiet, thoughtful mood, wrapped in her sweater with a gentle, reflective gaze. I wanted to capture the softness of thought, the stillness in the eyes, and the story hidden behind an expression. It’s one of those drawings where each pencil stroke carries a feeling, and every shadow whispers something unseen. Here’s how I created it step by step.

Drawing tools

• A4 paper

• mechanical pencil

• graphite pencil

• 8B pencil

• charcoal pencil

• black pen

• eraser

• sharpener

Step 1

For me, I began by drawing the eyes; this step is a basic foundation to capture the expressive tone of the face, and then I added details to the eyes and also added her nose as well.

Step 2

Next, with a simple light sketch using a 2H pencil. I outlined the shape of the head, the beanie, and the resting posture of the shoulders. My goal was to keep the lines gentle so they could be easily adjusted later. I also drew the mouth.

Step 3

This is where the portrait came alive; in this step I drew the hair, where I used a black pen and a set of 2B and 6B pencils to achieve a rich, layered look. Each strand was drawn in layers, flowing naturally over the face and shoulder. I loved how the messiness of the hair added a relaxed and thoughtful feel to the character.

Step 4

Next was the beanie. The beanie added a cosy and stylish touch to the portrait. I used cross-hatching to show its woven texture while keeping the tone light enough to contrast with the darker hair. I also shaded the sweater folds to give it a sense of texture and volume.

Step 5

Shading is where the magic begins. I started adding shadows around the eyes, cheeks, and neck to give the portrait dimension. I gently softened the pencil marks to create a smooth gradient. The eyes were darkened slightly to make them more striking, while lighter areas like the nose bridge and lips received gentle highlights. The sweater folds were shaded using soft circular motions to capture their natural drape.

Step 6

In the final stage, I took time to polish the small details. I used my eraser to gently lift light spots where I wanted reflection, especially on the lips, nose, and eyes. I refined the edges of the face, darkened certain areas of the hair, and smoothed out rough shading. Every final touch made the drawing feel more alive and emotionally connected. Then my pencil drawing is now complete.

Here's a selfie of me and my drawing.